Comment | Help us showcase the best places to be a civil engineer

At its simplest, New Civil Engineer exists to help civil engineers become better civil engineers. And the best way to be the best civil engineer you can be is to work for a great civil engineering practice.

But what are - and where are - the great civil engineering practices? Well, we’ve launched the NCE100 to find out. A direct replacement to the Consultants File & Awards and Contractors File, the NCE100 is a more qualitative assessment of what makes for a great civil engineering practice.

We are seeking out the firms that are at the cutting edge of technical excellence and are embracing future technologies; the firms that are sharing best practice by taking a world view; the firms that are employing engineers fit for the future and driving the equality agenda to make civil engineering a truly great profession.

All are welcome – consultants and contractors. All we want to see is a commitment to talent development and a desire to deliver for clients and society.

Do make sure your firm is a part of it. As with the Consultants and Contractors Files entry is by questionnaire. But unlike with Consultants and Contractors Files your firm’s answers will be ratified by the responses we will get from a second questionnaire survey - this time to you and your fellow employees.

Your firm’s ranking in our top 100 – and eligibility for a host of special award categories - will then be determined by our panel of expert judges, with the final top 10 decided by our super jury of client judges. All will be revealed at a gala dinner in May and reported in New Civil Engineer online and in print straight after.

So do make sure your firm has entered. The extended entry deadline is next Friday and you can find out more at https://100awards.nce.co.uk/.

We really do want to showcase the best firms offering the best opportunities. Why?

Well, more than 5,000 civil engineers will be needed to meet demand by the end of this decade, according to a report published last week.

The Construction Industry Training Board found that 1,270 people were required to enter the profession every year to 2020 to replace those leaving and match rising levels of work.

With the construction industry as a whole expected to grow in each of the next five years, the hunt is on for people to do the work. And we need to entice these people in. The NCE100 will be a great way to help us do it.

Backers of light rail schemes across the country were given a boost last week, when the government called on rail providers to table their proposals under a new Department for Transport (DfT) competition .

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